Kevin Gilbride Defends Himself: Kevin Gilbride, who retired as offensive coordinator of the New York Giants in January, spoke publicly on Thursday night at the PKD Foundation benefit in Manhattan. Some speculate that Gilbride only retired because he knew he would be fired. On the contrary, Gilbride said he told his wife before the 2013 season began he would retire unless he was offered a head coaching job in 2014.

“If I wanted to stay coaching I would have stayed with the Giants,” said Gilbride.

Gilbride is blamed by many for the demise of the Giants’ offense, which fell from 14th to 28th. Head Coach Tom Coughlin has said that Gilbride would not have been forced out, but team President/CEO John Mara and General Manager Jerry Reesse have said that it was time for a change on offense.

“I’m kind of surprised to hear (Jerry Reese) say that,” Gilbride said. “No one had figured that offense out for 24 years. To think that they figured it out this year would be pretty ludicrous. I think it was pretty obvious what the problems were. We had a confluence of injuries, we were very weak on the offensive line. We had some guys who struggled. We started six different offensive tailbacks, three different fullbacks, three different right guards, four different centers…You’re not going to have anything (with that). You can say it’s the offense, but it’s pretty clear what the problem was.”

“I certainly have expressed (roster talent) concerns for a number of years,” Gilbride said. “It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when it was going to happen.”

In a shot at Hakeem Nicks and Rueben Randle, another issue according to Gilbride was that the Giants only had “one guy playing” at wide receiver (Victor Cruz). Gilbride thought John Mara’s comments about it taking so long for Jerrel Jernigan to be a factor on game day were a “cheap shot”.

“I didn’t understand it,” said Gilbride. “Because (Jernigan) had chances as a kick returner and he’d played before and hadn’t played well. I think it’s a great tribute to (Wide Receivers Coach Kevin M. Gibride) and (Quarterbacks Coach Sean Ryan) that developed him and that he got on the field.”

When asked about the Giants’ prospects in 2014, Gilbride responded, “They have to get some players. If the players come back, if (Chris) Snee comes back healthy and (David) Baas comes back healthy. The running back situation is a little scary – they have to get somebody there. But if they can get somebody there and if (Kevin) Boothe comes back the inside three will be stable. I know they’re going to look for a tight end. There are a lot of holes that need to be filled.”

“If they shore up some of the supporting cast, I think they’ll be fine,” said Gilbride. “Last year we went into the year with some question marks at some spots and sure enough those question marks were all answered in a negative fashion. Between that and the confluence of injuries, it just wasn’t going to happen.”

LB Jameel McClain Visits Giants, But Leaves Without Contract: Linebacker Jameel McClain, who was cut by the Baltimore Ravens last month is a salary-cap related move, visited the New York Giants on Thursday but left without a contract. He had visited with the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday and is scheduled to meet with the Minnesota Vikings next.

New York Giants Interested in Center Evan Dietrich-Smith?:FOXSports1 is reporting that the New York Giants may be interested in pursuing soon-to-be unrestricted free agent center Evan Dietrich-Smith (Green Bay Packers) if the Packers do not re-sign him and center David Baas is released.

Jon Beason Representing Himself in Contract Talks: Soon-to-be unrestricted free agent linebacker Jon Beason recently fired his agent and will be representing himself in his contract talks.

Starting on Saturday, March 8, NFL teams are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents on other teams. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4:00PM ET on March 11. Because Beason will be representing himself, teams will not be able to contact him until March 11. So the Giants will have three more days to negotiate exclusively with Beason.

Kevin Gilbride Speaks Out: Kevin Gilbride, the much-criticized offensive coordinator of the New York Giants who retired last Thursday, was interviewed on Tuesday night on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Gilbride made the following comments:

On Eli Manning: “(The state of the offensive line) just made it impossible for our quarterback to function. (Manning is) a guy where if you give him enough time, he’s always going to be throwing the ball to the right person. He’s going to know what you’re doing defensively. He’s going to see through your disguises. He’s going to be an accurate passer. But he’s not a scrambler, and you’ve got to give him some help. And if you give him some help he’s proven that he can win a championship for you…I think more than anything, when you’re behind he is not one of those guys that is (concerned about interceptions)… He’s going to try to win the game. If you’re down by two scores at the end of the game, he’s going to throw it up and he’ll force it because he’s going to try to give his team a chance. And if it happens to be picked off and that ends the opportunity and it reflects poorly on him, to be quite candid he could care less. He’s just going to do whatever he thinks he has to do to give his team a chance to win. So because we were behind, we started the season 0-6, there were a number of situations at the end of a game where those scenarios arose and we certainly incurred our fair share of turnovers in that regard. But I think if you do solidify the line, I believe he is an accurate passer, he is going to throw it to the right person. But everybody’s got to do their job and give him an opportunity to do his and he will do it very well.”

On how the personnel issues forced the Giants to adapt their offense: “In general, I think philosophically we just modified substantially what we normally do. We’ve been a dynamic, explosive, throw the ball down the field, let your guys go to a lot of vertical read type of stretch principals, and we had to abandon those. Those are the things that we’d done very well and allowed us to be in the top 10 offensively for a long time. You can’t do it because your quarterback would be on his back while you waited for those things to happen. You became much more conservative, much more three-step oriented, which was good for a while, but people, they’re smart on that (defensive) side of the ball and they identify fairly quickly what your weaknesses are and they realize what your adjustments have been, so they take those things away. When we had to expand what we wanted to do, that’s when our shortcomings manifested themselves.”

On the wide receivers: “Victor Cruz still played very well on the inside for us, but it became readily apparent to defenses that we weren’t playing as well with the outside receiver position. That became an area that people just, they had no reservation about lining up just bump and run and getting an extra guy into the box, making it more difficult and challenging to run and forcing you to throw the ball vertically a little bit. You try to throw some three-step fades and fade stops, but they’re sitting on those things. I think if the Giants can get the wideout position straightened out – the outside position, not the inside because between Victor Cruz and the emergence of Jerrel Jernigan at the end, that will help.”

On the tight ends: “Well I think there’s no question they’re going to bring in some people. There are some young guys – the Larry Donnells and Adrien Robinsons that have some size and look to be enough physical ability to get open and catch the ball – but they are raw, young players and need a lot of growth and development. So I think it wouldn’t surprise me if they bring in a veteran tight end that can come in and play that position. We didn’t get the production that we’ve had the last few years out of that spot…When they started doubling Victor Cruz, which they did from the second game on every time it was an obvious passing down, you needed somebody else to win. And when you weren’t winning outside you hoped your tight end would do it. Now Brandon Myers did a terrific job for us when they played zone coverages and he’d find the soft spot and make the tough catches, but I think they’re going to look for a bigger, faster guy. You know, he’d be a great No. 2, but I think they’re looking for somebody that can be a solid starter at that position. It remains to be seen if those young guys will mature fast enough to give them the confidence to play with them in a starting role.”

On the running backs: “There’s no question they’re gonna have to get a running back that can be the bell cow. I think we had hoped Andre Brown could be that person but he didn’t come back until about the 9th game, 10th game. It looked like he was gonna be that guy the first couple of games and then he was slowed by injury.”

On the offensive line: “We had been concerned about depth in the offensive line for a while now. That group has aged…I would say the offensive line first and foremost has to be addressed. I think Justin Pugh advanced and grew outside as a starter at the right tackle position, but they need another significant upgrade in the o-line and certainly some added depth.”

On left tackle Will Beatty: “We made the gamble that William Beatty would be the guy and he had played very well last year. And this year he did not have as good a year. He was much more inconsistent than he had been the year before. He was slowed by some problems, and then of course he finished the year with a significant knee injury, so that remains to be seen how he recovers from that. Now I think there’s no question that he has the physical skills to play the left tackle position. He has the skill set to match up speed wise with anybody. I just think he’s got to demonstrate again the commitment and the toughness that you have to have on a play-in and play-out basis. But there’s no question in my mind he has the physical talent. It’s just a matter of making his consistency be at the level that it needs to be, because some games he played well and then some games we certainly had our problems.”

On Mike Sullivan possibly replacing him as offensive coordinator: “He’s a bright individual and he grew very quickly and developed a nice rapport in the quarterback room with the quarterbacks, most notably Eli, of course. Then he had a chance to go down and get his feet wet in Tampa Bay. The first year they did a terrific job. This year they struggled. I’m sure without knowing full well what took place down there I’m sure there were extenuating circumstances which caused the fall-off. But he’s a good coach, a good person, he knows the people here, he knows the system, that’s what he’s grown up in, so I think he would be a natural, seamless transition if they chose to go in that direction. To be totally candid with you I have no idea what their thinking is, but he certainly would be a good choice.”

Victor Cruz Speaks Out: Wide receiver Victor Cruz spoke to the press on Wednesday at a promotion event for XBox. Cruz made the following comments:

On Mike Sullivan possibly being the Giants’ next offensive coordinator: “I’m rooting for him. I could see (some arguging for a new system) but, you know, I think it’s just his familiarity with our personnel, with our offense, the one we had. Obviously, he’s running a similar offense with Tampa Bay but I’m sure he’ll have some tweaks here or there. I just think we need a refresher, I think, more so than people needing a whole big name. A refreshing face that we know, one we’re all comfortable with, and we can go from there.”

On Kevin Gilbride’s point that the outside receivers did not perform well: “You would see it. You would see, whether it was Rueben (Randle), whether it was Hakeem (Nicks), this isn’t pointing the finger at anyone, but the play that we got from the outside wasn’t what we’re accustomed to having. We’re accustomed to having Hakeem be an outside threat with a 1,000-yard season that he’s done in the past and Rueben being himself on the outside although he did have six touchdowns this year which is very much improved from the year before. But that consistency wasn’t there from the outside position. You could definitely feel it throughout the season, you could see it from game to game that our productivity wasn’t there from the outside position.”

On the on-field relationship between Eli Manning and his receivers: “You never know with Eli, he just keeps an even keel the whole way. But sometimes when you have those passes that you throw up and typically they’re caught for big plays and when that doesn’t happen naturally you tend to throw it differently or go to a different read or go somewhere else with the ball. That would happen naturally. I mean, if I was quarterback that would happen to me, so I’d imagine it would happen to Eli as well. That’s definitely natural.”

On Cruz and Nicks missing so much offseason work last year: “Honestly, I thought we’d go in and we’d pick it up right where we left off, especially with guys who have been around and done it before like myself and Hakeem and Rueben. I thought we would come in and pick it right up. It goes to show you that it takes a lot more than just that. You have to build a lot more continuity, you have to build a lot more trust mentally with your quarterback. I think it’s important. For a quarterback like Eli, for receivers like myself and guys like Hakeem and Rueben and Jerrel, you have to have that continuity, that consistency together over a period of time that’s going to continue to instill trust in Eli and us. The more comfortable Eli is with his receivers, where they’re going to be, their knowledge of the offense, their route running, how he sees how you run specific routes so he knows how to get you the ball, I think that’s huge in our minds to remain comfortable and for Eli to continue to trust us. It played a little bit of a part. In this league when you’re a veteran and you’ve been in the league that long, it shouldn’t take long for you to catch up, it shouldn’t take long for you to adjust. We’re not first-year, second-year players. Me and Hakeem are four-year, five-year guys, so we understood exactly how to come in and pick it up and be on the same page rather quickly. But I think it did play a little bit of a part in our continuity early on and throughout the length of the season.”

On if Nicks leaves the Giants: “He’s obviously been a big piece for us in the last years that he’s been with us. But I think we definitely always have the talent in our receiving room to be successful. I think that’s just a testament to how we drafted and how we got players to fit the mold to our offense. I think we can definitely be able to be successful if Hakeem has to move on. It’s something that we’re going to have to look at. And we hope not, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Chris Snee Says He Might Not Be Done Yet: Right guard Chris Snee told The New York Post on Tuesday that he might not be ready to retire. Snee has been troubled with significant elbow and hip issues the past three seasons. He was placed on Injured Reserve in early October with a torn labrum in his right hip that required surgery. The Post is reporting he also underwent elbow surgery in November. Snee’s 2014 cap value is roughly $11.75 million.

“Right now, my mind-set is getting my body 100 percent and we’ll see from there,” said Snee. “I love the game, I love everything about it. I missed it during the fall, but there’s a lot of factors that go into making a decision. One, we’ll see if I’m wanted and we’ll go from there…I’m recovering well. It’s been a long road. Two surgeries is not something I want to do, particularly during the season. It’s been a difficult fall, winter, but the worst is behind me and I feel really good.”

Snee also commented on the possibility of Mike Sullivan becoming the Giants’ new offensive coordinator. “He’s a fun guy to be around,” Snee said. “He’s a well-liked man and well-respected man.”

Tom Coughlin Was Prepared to Fight for Kevin Gilbride: According to The Daily News, had Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride not retired on Thursday, Head Coach Tom Coughlin was prepared to fight to keep Gilbride in his discussions with team President/CEO John Mara and General Manager Jerry Reese. Those organizational discussions reportedly began on Thursday and will continue into next week. The Daily News says, “Knowing Mara’s intention to replace Gilbride, Coughlin told at least one person ‘I’m not going to let that happen.'” The Daily News adds that it is unknown how far Coughlin was willing to go if Mara insisted on firing Gilbride. A source informed The Daily News that Coughlin told Gilbride he was going to fight for him, but Gilbride said there was no need since he had decided to retire.

“The first thing that I said to our owners is that I’m responsible for the coaches,” Coughlin said said on WFAN on Friday. “To think that there’s any one individual who is responsible for the circumstances that we found ourselves in, that’s crazy. Kevin Gilbride is an excellent football coach, he’s an excellent teacher and communicator. His players do respond to him. He works very, very hard at his trade. He has made his mark on this organization.”

Mike Sullivan Not a Shoo-In for Offensive Coordinator?: According to various press reports, team sources have said that it is premature to label Mike Sullivan as the favorite to be the next offensive coordinator of the Giants. Sullivan, who was Tampa Bay’s Offensive Coordinator in 2012-13, was on Coughlin’s staff from 2004-11, first as wide receivers coach, then quarterbacks coach.

Daily News: More on the Assistant Coaching Front: According to The Daily News, a source told the paper that Wide Receivers Coach Kevin M. Gilbride, the son of the Giants’ recently retired offensive coordinator, is expected to retain his job.

However, two sources told the paper that Special Teams Coordinator Tom Quinn and Quarterbacks Coach Sean Ryan may be let go next week, possibly as early as Monday.

RB Brandon Jacobs Retires: RB Brandon Jacobs announced his retirement from football on Twitter on Thursday. Jacobs played eight seasons for the New York Giants (2005-2011, 2013) and one season with the San Francisco 49ers (2012). In 2013, in seven games, Jacobs rushed for 238 yards and four touchdowns. He had cartilage graft surgery to repair osteo-arthritis in his left knee on December 11 and was placed on Injured Reserve the next day. Jacobs leaves the NFL as the Giants’ #4 leading rusher in franchise history with 5,087 yards and #1 rushing touchdown leader with 60. (Both figures are regular-season totals).

“After 9 years in this whirlwind business they call the NFL, I am proud to announce that I am hanging up my cleats,” wrote Jacobs. “I’ve had an amazing run and I appreciate all of the support from the fans through the good and the bad. The New York Giants are a great organization and I am proud to have been a part of it for so long. I love my coaches and my teammates and will miss them as well as the game itself but I am healing well from my surgery and I look forward to running around with my kids for years to come!”

New York Giants Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride Retires: The New York Giants announced on Thursday that Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride is retiring from football. Gilbride has been the Giants’ offensive coordinator since 2007. Before that, he served as the team’s quarterback coach from 2004-2006.

“It’s hard to say, ‘It’s time,’” Gilbride said. “To finally do it, it’s a very unnatural feeling. I’ve been telling my wife (Debbie) for years I was going to do it. She moved back to Rhode Island (where she helps care for a granddaughter when the Gilbrides’ daughter is working), so I’ve been by myself in the hotel for three or four years. I knew this was it and I was going to do it. I finally pulled the trigger. But it’s difficult.”

“I have great respect for Kevin and Debbie and their family, so it’s not an easy thing to part ways,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “Kevin is a professional. He’s been an exceptional football coach for the New York Giants. He helped win two Super Bowl championships. Kevin was the play-caller in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI. He has done a great service to the franchise.”

“Kevin is an outstanding coach who made enormous contributions to this franchise,” said team President and CEO John Mara. “He helped us win a lot of games over the past 10 years, including two Super Bowls. He will be remembered as one of the best coaches to ever represent the New York Giants.”

“Since Tom elevated Kevin to the role of offensive coordinator, we have added two more Executive Vice President Steve Tisch said. “For that, and Kevin’s tremendous commitment and dedication to his craft and this organization, we will always be grateful.”

“Kevin has been a special person around here for a long time and a very good football coach,” said General Manager Jerry Reese. “We are grateful for his years of service with us, especially during the two championship seasons. I wish only the best for him and his family moving forward.”

Gilbride has worked with QB Eli Manning since he was drafted in 2004.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Kevin,” Manning said. “I’m really sad to see him retire. He has been with me from day one as my quarterbacks coach and then my coordinator. He really taught me everything I needed to learn to become an NFL quarterback. We’ve had so much success together, obviously winning our two Super Bowls. His offenses have had great success in this league for many, many years. He’s been a great coach and great friend over these 10 years, and I’m definitely going miss him on the field and in the meeting rooms.”

The 2013 season was Gilbride’s 39th in coaching, 24th in the National Football League, and 10th with the Giants.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of coaching,” Gilbride said. “Certainly the last 10 years with the Giants has been a special time, to be part of the bringing the Super Bowls to New York and New Jersey and the Giants organization. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the development of some of the young players that we brought along, certainly starting with Eli. But (also) Steve Smith and Victor Cruz; they hadn’t had a Pro Bowl receiver since 1968 and we brought two back to them. That’s been fun. And I thoroughly enjoyed being part of those exciting last-minute drives that we seem to excel at. That 2011 season, we had six or seven of them, including the Super Bowl.”

Three of the Giants’ top five scoring teams in their history came under Gilbride: 2012 (429 points), 2008 (427), and 2009 (402). In 2011, the Giants gained a franchise-record 6,161 yards, breaking the mark of 6,085 set in 2010. Those are the only 6,000-yard seasons in Giants history.

With the demise of the offensive line and skill position players, the Giants’ offense struggled in 2013, finishing 28th in total yards.

“It is difficult to walk away after a season like that, no question,” Gilbride said. “You made the adjustments and you continue to modify and adapt and do the things you had to do to give your guys a chance. But all of the success we’ve had offensively through the last five or six years, we just weren’t able to get it done this year with all of the things that took place. But the thing we never did, we never used it as an excuse or explanation. We just continued to battle through and to win seven of our last 10 the way we did, I was very proud of our coaches and players.”

“What I’ll miss most of all are the relationships,” Gilbride said, “certainly starting with Tom and all that he means to us, but also the other coaches and the players. When you’re with them in that environment, the crucible of competition, it’s hard not to forge some very, very strong bonds. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to those guys. I will miss them terribly. I’ll miss everybody in the organization.”

New York Giants Organizational Meetings Begin on Thursday: According to press reports, the New York Giants organizational meetings will begin on Thursday and could last at least a few days. These meetings are expected to determine the fate of members of the coaching staff.

Star-Ledger: Jon Beason Likely to Re-Sign with Giants: According to The Star-Ledger, there are strong indications from multiple sources that soon-to-be unrestricted free agent LB Jon Beason will re-sign with the New York Giants. “I would love to play here next year,” said Beason after the last game on Sunday.

S Antrel Rolle on WFAN: The audio of Tuesday’s WFAN interview with S Antrel Rolle is available at CBSNewYork.com

P Steve Weatherford on ESPN Radio: The audio of Sunday’s ESPN Radio interview with P Steve Weatherford is available at ESPN.com.

NJ.com Reports That Kevin Gilbride Likely to Be Fired:NJ.com is reporting that “high-ranking officials in the Giants organization” believe that Giants’ offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride will soon be fired. The website is saying that the announcement may not be made official right away as organizational meetings ultimately determining Gilbride’s final fate could run into next week. NJ.com is also reporting that an unidentified source within the organization says that Head Coach Tom Coughlin is unlikely to put his job on the line to keep Gilbride.

Speculation is growing that the Giants might replace Gilbride with Mike Sullivan, Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator who was fired on Monday. Sullivan served as wide receivers (2004-2009) and quarterbacks (2010-2011) coach for the Giants under Tom Coughlin. “We obviously think very highly of him,” said New York Giants’ President/CEO John Mara on Monday.

QB Eli Manning on WFAN: The audio of Monday’s WFAN interview with QB Eli Manning is available at CBSNewYork.com

Cruz and Mosley have already been ruled out of the game against the Washington Redskins on Sunday. Mosley will have surgery on his broken hand on Friday.

“Rueben has a little bit of swelling in his knee, so they want to take a look at it,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “Hopefully it’s not going to be much. Time to time he has some issues…In our work yesterday he kind of limped around a little bit, so they took him in and looked at it and it was a little bit swollen this morning.”

The Giants surprisingly announced that Cruz underwent arthroscopic debridement on his left knee on Thursday afternoon. It is believed that the surgery removed damaged cartilage. The Giants have already officially ruled him out of Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. His season is most likely over since the normal recovery time from such a procedure is 3-4 weeks.

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